Pregnant asylum seekers on Christmas Island pleaded with medical experts four months ago to put their children up for adoption by Australian families as the women became increasingly anxious about their future.

Child psychiatrist Sarah Mares told Fairfax Media that during a visit to the centre in March, mothers and pregnant women exhibited extremely high levels of depression and anxiety, telling her they would rather die at sea than not be processed on Christmas Island.

''This is related to the women's experience of prolonged indefinite detention in a situation where they don't feel adequate to care for their babies or protect them,'' said Dr Mares, who has 30 years' experience as a perinatal and child psychiatrist. ''Many of these women have come from countries where there is considerable violence against women.''

The mothers were also concerned about the health of their babies, who had weeping sores, ringworm and skin infections, Dr Mares said.

''I spoke to a couple of women who were pregnant who raised the question of whether their babies could be adopted by Australians because they might have a better life. That was because of concern of ending up on Nauru.''

Jacob Varghese, a principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, said it would be a ''legal minefield'' if the babies were adopted by Australian families, given that babies born to asylum-seeker parents in Australia are still considered ''unauthorised maritime arrivals''.

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On Wednesday, Fairfax Media reported that up to 12 women on Christmas Island had attempted suicide in the belief that their children would be settled in Australia if they were dead.

But the Immigration Minister's office rejected those claims, saying he had been advised that the reports of multiple suicide attempts were not correct.

But advice from the immigration department obtained by Fairfax Media shows that following the meeting on Christmas Island this week, there were ''seven individuals who made threats of self harm, four have actually self harmed, and one woman attempted suicide''. This would account for 12 asylum seekers who were involved in some form of self harm.

The president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, said for many women, the catalyst for self harm was the first anniversary of being detained on Christmas Island.

On July 19 last year, asylum seekers were taken to detention centres following then prime minister Kevin Rudd's policy that asylum seekers who arrive by boat will not be settled in Australia.

''They have been there a year with their claims not being assessed,'' Dr Triggs said.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she was extremely concerned for the women's welfare.

''These mothers are exceptionally vulnerable and need to be treated with an appropriate level of compassion,'' she said.

But Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the government would not give in to ''moral blackmail''.

''I don't believe any thinking Australian would want us to capitulate to moral blackmail,'' he said on Wednesday.